1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 191: The Imperial Examination is Cancelled, the Ministry of Education is Established, and Li Qiwei is Promoted

March 1905, 3, the first day of the Chinese New Year.

The Qing government issued an edict abolishing the imperial examination system that had lasted for more than 1300 years.

As soon as this decree was issued, it immediately caused an uproar in the country.

All newspapers across the country rushed to report on it, and even foreign newspapers paid close attention.

For Western countries, this was a very clear signal, meaning that the Qing Dynasty began to abandon feudal remnants and accept the outside world.

No longer use the eight-legged essay to select officials and restrict the people's thoughts.

This is the kind of country that the West likes. Their products can flow in without any resistance and they will no longer be regarded as demons.

Along with it come various Western ideas.

As for the people in the country, they just feel empty in their hearts.

Although the insider information that the imperial examination would be cancelled had long been circulating among the people, most people believed it was a rumor.

Without the imperial examination system, how can we select talented people to become officials in the future?

If there were no imperial examination, what would happen to so many scholars?
However, when the results were really placed in front of them, countless people fell silent.

The scholars in the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang were better off, as they were exposed to Western ideas early on and even attended new-style schools in the West.

But many students in inland counties felt like the sky was falling.

They are isolated from the news, burying themselves in books all year round and not caring about national affairs at all.

When I heard the news suddenly, my first reaction was that it was impossible, absolutely impossible.

Then comes the feeling of despair and powerlessness in facing the truth.

It is like a test-taker in a county town in later generations, who worked hard for twelve years and finally waited for the college entrance examination, and was about to pass the test.

As a result, the country suddenly announced that the college entrance examination was cancelled, and you should do what you should do.

The blow you get can be imagined.

Protests by scholars occurred in many provinces.

However, this is the great trend of the country and cannot be changed by human will.

Scholars are notoriously unarmed and can hardly make any waves.

However, the Qing government did not go to extremes and also introduced relevant remedial measures.

For example, a special decree was issued that scholars preparing for the imperial examinations could be unconditionally admitted to local middle schools or universities to receive education.

Moreover, tuition fees are preferential and students will be given priority in finding a place to live after graduation.

It can also be regarded as an explanation to those who abandoned the imperial examination.

As a result, a very funny phenomenon appeared across the country.

The scholars who used to shake their heads and talk about all sorts of things now shout every day: odd numbers change, even numbers remain the same; the sign depends on the quadrant.

According to Li Qiwei's education plan, science and engineering are now the main focus in the country.

So the Four Books and Five Classics became mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology.

Of course, there are also many stubborn old fogies who believe that the abolition of the imperial examination is only temporary.

The Emperor and the Empress Dowager issued this decree only because they were deceived by treacherous ministers.

Once they realize what's happening, all those who advocated its cancellation will be beheaded, and the imperial examination system will definitely be launched again.

So, when others are starting to learn new knowledge and explore the future.

They still held on to the books of sages, hoping that the emperor and the empress dowager could see through the treacherous villains and restore order to the Qing Dynasty.

This is the true nature of the world.

However, these old stubborn people did not wait for the imperial examination to be restarted, but instead they were met with deep despair.

A few days later, the Qing government issued another decree announcing reform measures in the field of education.

On March 3, the Ministry of Education was established to unify the management of education throughout the country and to govern all schools in the provinces.

The Ministry of Education has one Shangshu, one left and one right assistant minister, one left and right chancellor, and several councilors.

The Faculty consists of five departments: General Affairs, Specialized, General, Industry, and Accounting.

The Five Departments include a total of 12 departments, each with positions such as Langzhong, Yuanwailang, and Zhushi.

At this point, the Qing Dynasty's new education system was formally established.

The educational administrative organs are divided into:

At the central level, a ministry of education is established to manage all schools and formulate education charters.

At the provincial level, an Education Commissioner's Office is established to execute the orders of the Ministry of Education and manage the province's universities, middle schools, primary schools, and kindergartens.

At the prefecture, state, and county levels, education promotion offices were set up to go deep into the grassroots, promote new-style education, and expand the student population.

At present, there are only universities at the provincial level, and there are only middle schools, primary schools and kindergartens at the prefectures, counties and cities.

In addition, the Ministry of Education and local provinces all established inspectors.

The former is responsible for inspecting educational affairs across the country, while the latter is responsible for inspecting educational affairs in prefectures, counties and cities in the province.

On March 3, the Qing government appointed Rong Qing as the Minister of Education, Xiying as the Left Vice Minister, and Yan Xiu as the Right Vice Minister to assist the Minister in his work.

Among them, Rongqing was Mongolian, Xiying was Manchu, and only Yan Xiu was Han.

This was also the strategy of separation of powers and checks and balances commonly used by the Qing Dynasty.

In addition, Li Qiwei was appointed as the Education Commissioner of Guangdong and was given the title of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education.

This appointment perfectly reflects the cunningness of the Qing Dynasty.

The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education is of the second rank, and the Guangdong Education Commissioner is also of the second rank. The two seem to be equal.

But one is a central government official, in charge of education across the country; the other is a local government official, in charge of education only in the province. Their functions and powers cannot be compared.

Originally, Yuan Shikai and other Han ministers had submitted memorials suggesting that Li Qiwei be appointed as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education.

But Cixi did not agree, and instead transferred him to the post of Guangdong Education Commissioner.

Li Qiwei presented the laser bead to her, so she had to show some appreciation, and she couldn't be too stingy. Cixi wanted to let everyone know who was blocking the sky of the Qing Dynasty.

She will satisfy whoever satisfies her.

However, Cixi always believed that the Han people should not hold too much power, so she simply let Li Qiwei focus on Guangdong.

The imperial decree she gave was that Guangdong was the pioneer of the Qing Dynasty's opening up, and that business, industry, and education were many arduous and difficult affairs, each of which required a capable and practical minister to take charge and ensure that everything went smoothly.

Li Qiwei, the imperial tutor of the Qing Dynasty, is loyal to the emperor, patriotic, and considerate of the overall situation. You should strive to be loyal and diligent to be worthy of the mission.

What I mean is, Li Qiwei, you are very capable, but the education of the whole country cannot be left to you to manage, after all, you are Han Chinese.

You have made great contributions, so to comfort you, I will let you be the Education Envoy of Guangdong.

Guangdong is located at the forefront of opening up and has a complex educational environment, which is a good opportunity to test your abilities.

However, Li Qiwei presented a rare treasure after all, and his thoughtfulness is precious.

In order to take into account the opinions of Han ministers, Cixi added a nominal position to him, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education.

This is very common in official circles.

Generally, an official has made great contributions, but for various reasons, he cannot be awarded a position with great power, so he is given an honorary position.

To put it bluntly, Li Qiwei could use the name of the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education to put forward various opinions to the Ministry of Education and the court.

But he did not have the real power of the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education.

Li Qiwei was very satisfied with this. He didn't want to be the right vice minister.

That was a Beijing official, which meant that he would have to live in the capital permanently in the future, which obviously did not fit his plan.

Moreover, once he went to the capital, he would be helpless and at the mercy of others, which would be a waste of time and effort.

How can you live freely and comfortably in Guangzhou?

It was impossible for Cixi and other Qing Dynasty rulers to guess what Li Qiwei was thinking.

In their inherent cognition, officials in Beijing must be countless times more important than officials from other places.

If Li Qiwei came to the capital, with his ability, he would definitely be able to make friends with many important officials of the court, which is something that Cixi and others do not want to see.

But if he is transferred to Guangdong, no matter how much he does, he will be limited to that province and his influence will be much smaller.

Little did they know that what Li Qiwei wanted more was to hold real power and truly control the education of a province, where he could do more.

The former Guangdong Education Commissioner Yu Shimei was promoted to the position of Left Prime Minister of the Ministry of Education, but he looked worried.

"Hey, brother, why am I so unlucky?"

"Others are doing well and moving up, but I'm going straight down."

Li Qiwei said with a smile: "Brother, don't be so ungrateful."

"You are going to the capital to serve as an official this time. If I go to the capital in the future, I will have to rely on you to receive me."

Logically speaking, the Guangdong Education Commissioner must be of higher rank than the Left Prime Minister of the Ministry of Education, so why was Yu Shimei promoted?

This is due to historical factors.

When Yu Shimei was still the governor of Guangdong, although his rank seemed to be the same as that of the governor, he was still of the second rank.

However, the position of academician was still a job with a high status, and its rank was related to the person who was elected.

Yu Shimei's own rank was very low, he was just a small official of the fourth rank in the Hanlin Academy.

Later, Li Qiwei implemented the New Deal Reform, and the academician was changed to the education commissioner, and he was changed from a messenger to a direct official with his own government office, the Education Commissioner's Office.

Power is not the same.

The Education Envoy was fixed as a senior official of the second rank.

Before the establishment of the Ministry of Education, the official positions in the education system were in chaos, so Yu Shimei temporarily changed from the academic official to the education envoy.

Now that everything is back on track, Yu Shimei can only show his true colors.

He was essentially just a fourth-rank official. It was a fantasy and impossible for him to directly jump to the second rank.

After all, Yu Shimei doesn't have a gift like the Laser Orb.

He has now become the third-rank official in the Ministry of Education, and is also a Beijing official. This is certainly a promotion, and it is legitimate.

During his tenure, Guangdong University achieved outstanding results, educational reform in Guangdong was carried out in an orderly manner without any problems, and the performance was absolutely satisfactory.

So, overall, Yu Shimei was very satisfied with her treatment.

"Hey, brother, I'm going to Beijing from now on, and Guangdong will be left to you."

"You have to get more money from the governor, otherwise this work cannot be carried out."

"The Education Department only had 1100 taels of silver last year. What can we do with that?"

"I can't get the money, so I can only rely on you, brother."

Li Qiwei smiled but said nothing.

In any country, the central and local governments will argue over funding.

The total amount is fixed. If your provinces have more, my provinces will naturally have less.

Therefore, the main job of local officials is to find ways to get money from the central government.

The same is true within a province: building roads requires money, disaster relief requires money, and education also requires money.

Who has more and who has less can only complain and argue with the heads of their respective departments.

It’s not so bad in wealthy provinces, there’s always room for crowding in.

Officials from those poor provinces will definitely fight over funding.

Yu Shimei is a soft-hearted person, it would be strange if she could get the money.

Li Qiwei was planning to implement compulsory education in Guangdong Province, but the annual funding of 1100 taels was simply a drop in the bucket.

It seems that he has to think of a solution.

(End of this chapter)